Community Palliative Care Nurse - Full Time

The Sutton Health and Care Palliative Care Coordination Hub is recognised as a system-wide resource that can support the transformational change that is taking place across Sutton's health and social care system.

It serves as the single point of access for people aged 18 and over who are likely to die within 12 months. It provides a coordination point, communication and delivery of care for professionals, individuals, families and carers that will be managed by nurses who are skilled in palliative and end of life care.

Main duties of the job

The Palliative Care Nurse will be responsible for assessing, planning and utilising skills, high quality, evidence-based nursing care for patients with palliative needs, including end of life care, and for supporting families prior to and immediately after death. The post holder will be responsible for anticipating and responding to changing patient needs whilst maintaining the independence, privacy and dignity.

About us

Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (ESTH) provides a range of medical services to approximately 500,000 people living across south west London and north east Surrey.

• We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country as well as some poorer areas. Together, with our NHS colleagues in Surrey, Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.

Sutton Health and Care (SHC) was an innovative joint venture between local partner health and social care organisations, which sees community services fully integrated to support the delivery of a new model of care for the people of Sutton. Hosted by ESTH, the model ensures the breaking down of traditional organisational barriers to enable the provision of care that is wrapped around the patient.

We pride ourselves in having a highly dedicated team and offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment with a wide range of staff benefits and development opportunities. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our vision and values and can play a crucial role in our ongoing achievements.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

• Work autonomously, utilising clinical practice to support the management of the service caseload of palliative patients utilising a holistic assessment approach and individualised care planning
• Manage calls for 'green' patient, identifying subtle cues when patients and families are struggling
• Identify 'amber' patients, react and manage concerns in an appropriate and timely way
• Prioritise 'red' patients ensuring the preparation for dying is in place and the community of care are prepared
• Support and facilitate the rapid discharge of palliative and end of life patients who have identified their preferred place of care as home/hospice/care home through hospital In Reach and coordination of end of life care services in Sutton
• Advocate for palliative care patients who may have complex needs working closely with the Palliative Care MDT, the ward, the discharge team, Social Services, voluntary sector and Primary Care providers
• Utilise advanced communication when discussing diagnosis, prognosis, advance care planning and treatment options for palliative and end of life patients
• Recognise and take appropriate action in issues related to MCA and Safeguarding
• Act as a skilled resource, communicating with patients, and their families, assessing their needs and providing relevant support, information, education and advice when necessary
• Encourage user involvement in the development of end of life care services using surveys and attendance and relevant meetings
• Assist in developing initiatives to reduce and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and reduce length of stay in hospital for patients identified as end of life
• Promote the Universal Care Plans and advance care planning completion for every patient who is deemed in the last 12 months of life referred to the service working with GPs to ensure approval to sign off
• Be prepared and part of managing systems for the dying patient, this includes attending urgent calls, giving medicines and supporting the act of dying with the patient and their family
• Work actively with the community of care around the patient in completing Continuing Health Care (CHC) checklist and Fastrack documentation.

Personal Development

• Participate in clinical supervision, appraisal and in-service training as identified on personal development plan
• Keep a personal professional profile of study in line with NMC requirements
• Identify own training needs to maintain and develop clinical skills and practice in line with NMC Fitness to Practice requirements
• Maintain clinical and professional competence by keeping up to date with nursing and health care trends and developments.

Service Development

• When required, participate in the identification of service development needs
• Support in the delivery of the service KPI targets and objectives
• Be pioneering within the service ensuring continuous improvement of the quality and safety of services by taking action on feedback and seeing to develop skills and knowledge of self and others
• Have experience and knowledge of change management
• Participate in obtaining patient/care feedback on the efficacy of the service.

Quality

• Ensure contemporaneous records are maintained at all times and to safeguard patient confidentiality by being aware of legal and ethical responsibilities
• Under the direction of the Clinical Lead, implement and evaluate pathways to ensure patients receive effective, efficient and timely care
• Work towards Trust values and the end of life patients charter.

Human Resources

• Adhere to all the relevant SHC and Trust policies and guidelines e.g. sickness reporting, absence management and the uniform policy
• Support the recruitment process in line with SHC guidance ensuring that appropriately skilled staff are appointed.

Audit and Research

• Actively participate in audit as required
• Assist in the measurement of performance indicators of the service provided, including workload data, error rates and service quality information.

Education and Training/Self-Development

• Deliver training to colleagues as an expert resource
• Support team members to deliver training and education
• Participate in an annual individual performance review process where objectives will be agreed, performance monitored and personal development needs discussed
• Act responsibly in respect of colleagues' health, safety and welfare following safe work practices and comply with SHC and Trust health and safety policies
• Adhere to all SHC and Trust policies as applicable.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Up to date clinical professional NMC registration (adult nursing)
• Evidence of continuous professional practice and education, clearly recorded in current professional profile

Desirable

• Relevant post registration course in palliative care with experience of working in an end of life speciality
• Advanced communication course
• Independent prescribing qualification

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience working as an adult registered nurse especially with older people, dementia, end of life
• Experience in undertaking holistic assessments
• Experience in managing the needs of complex patients
• Experience of frailty and dementia nursing
• Experience in teaching and assessing in clinical practice
• Experience of working in the community

Desirable

• Experience of supervising, mentoring and appraising staff

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Clear understanding of national and local agenda relating to delivery of community care
• Sound understanding of patient management for older people and people living with long term conditions
• Ability to demonstrate evidence based clinical practice
• Awareness of professional issues and national agenda regarding direction of travel for integrated health and social care
• Knowledge of the National Service Framework for Older People and its application to practice
• Knowledge of the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions and its application to practice
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to manage complex cases and to formulate care plans
• Ability to manage own time and workload effectively with good organisational skills
• Ability to work without close supervision
• Well developed interpersonal skills
• Flexible and innovative
• Ability to influence, negotiate and problem solve
• Advanced clinical and IT skills
• Ability to develop partnership working across agencies and organisations
• Understanding of MCA and DOLS

Desirable

• Experience of working with EMIS

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Enthusiastic and self motivated
• Ability to remain calm when working under pressure
• Confident and friendly
• Confident in relating to a diversity of people and situations
• Approachable and committed to an integrated approach
• Trustworthy
• Ability to be flexible in terms of work pattern and location to respond to the needs of the service
• Willingness to ask for and take advice
• Ability to make decisions using available evidence as necessary
• Access to transport to travel around the locality

Employer details

Employer name

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

The Circle Surgery (Green Wrythe Lane)

Green Wrythe Lane

Carshalton

SM5 1JF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

343-6472504-RB-SK